Tom Hanks Sent a Bullied Kid Named Corona a Typewriter

At this point, very little additional evidence is required to prove that Tom Hanks is an all-around good dude. He keeps right on providing it anyway. He’s basically just rubbing his goodness in our faces at this point. Stop being so nice Tom Hanks, you incredibly kind jerk!

Here’s what that unrepentant do-gooder did this time: While Hanks was suffering from coronavirus in Australia, his case attracted the eye of a local boy named, of all things, Corona. As you might suspect in these sad times, eight-year-old Corona was getting bullied in school because of his name. According to an Australian news report, kids were calling him “the coronavirus,” making him “sad and angry.”

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Corona wrote Tom Hanks a letter asking how he was doing, and explaining his own situation and sure enough Hanks wrote back — and sent him a very special gift, a vintage typewriter from his collection of the machines. And not just any typewriter either; naturally, Hanks sent Corona a Corona.

According to the New York Post, Hanks’ letter to Corona on April 10 told him “Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful!” and noted “You’re the only person I’ve ever known to have the name Corona — like the ring around the sun, a crown.” About the typewriter, he instructed Corona to “ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write me back.” And he closed it out with a nice reference to Toy Story: “P.S. You got a friend in ME!”

Imagine if Tom Hanks was your pen pal as a kid. Surreal. Here’s a video about Corona, Tom Hanks, and his new typewriter.